A more serious side to rugby league was the focus of a special Mates Helping Mates workshop held in Aberdeen on Tuesday evening.
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More than 50 players and parents from a mix of Scone Under 16s, Muswellbrook Under 16s and Aberdeen Under 15s rugby league teams attended the first Mates Helping Mates workshop at the Aberdeen Sport and Recreation Club.
The Hunter Valley Group 21 Rugby League organisation hosted the event which saw a series of discussions from Muswellbrook’s Jeff Drayton thanks to the unprecedented support from Cindy Milton’s team at Upper Hunter Community Services who saw this event come to fruition.
Former West Tigers player Wayne Wigham addressed the crowd for more than an hour, discussing some hard hitting topics, such as youth suicide and mental illness.
Wigham shared how the players can find the tools required to address these issues, help a mate out when he may be down and more importantly showed how easy it can be to reach out and get assistance.
Muswellbrook Junior League president Chris Dengate said it was great to see so many players involved from so many different clubs, coming together to break down the stigma around these real issues our young adults face every day.
“This was reflected whilst players and parents mingled for well over an hour enjoying a barbecue dinner discussing the workshop,” he said.
As Jeff Drayton said, there is no price on workshops like this.
“Wayne was exceptional, explaining how he presents these workshops with the assistance of the Black Dog Institute to NRL teams and the NSW Blues State of Origin team, so it is great to see we are getting the very best possible for our up and coming stars.
Scone Junior League president Jamie Munn said if they can help or change just one thought pattern from bad to good they have done their job.
“It’s not all about playing the game we all love, we have to mentor our juniors so they grow old and enjoy life.
“What a wonderful idea and huge thanks must go to Jeff Drayton and Cindy Milton, along with the team at Upper Hunter Community Services,” Munn said.
“From all discussions held at the end of the night, this may become an annual event for our Group 21 Under 16s rugby league sides.”